Indonesia asks for bribe to free Schappelle Corby

From New Zealand Stuff:

Schapelle Corby's lawyers tried to get the Australian Government to give them $500,000 to bribe the Indonesian judges overseeing her appeal, two Perth lawyers claimed yesterday.

Mark Trowell, one of two QCs asked by the Government to help her case, said the request was made earlier this month at a meeting he attended in Bali.

Corby's Indonesian lawyers also requested in a written document that $500,000 be forwarded to them from the Australian Government for "lobbying".

Mr Trowell said Corby was unaware of the request, which was rejected immediately.

Mr Trowell and fellow Perth lawyer Phillip Laskaris were initially sounded out about a bribe over dinner in Bali three weeks ago with the head of Corby's defence team, Vasu Rasiah, and her lawyer, Lily Lubis.

Mr Trowell confirmed yesterday that an approach had been made, saying that at first he thought it was a joke. "I kept pushing, pushing them to tell me what they saw as the best grounds of appeal," he said.

"Vasu said: 'Forget the merits of the appeal, all you have to do is put in the appeal and if you have got money to bribe the judges, you win the appeal.'

"I told him the Australian Government would never provide money to bribe judges.

"He said: 'There are no lawyers in Indonesia, only negotiators'."

One must now wonder if the drugs they found, were actually ever in her luggage at all.

Posted by Danny Carlton at June 24, 2005 09:23 AM